Joakim Noah on the Luol Deng Trade: It ‘Definitely Hurt’

When Chicago moved Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers in exchange for Andrew Bynum and Draft picks—so just cap relief and picks, essentially—it was expected that some of the guys on the Bulls wouldn’t be too happy. Big man Joakim Noah was honest about the hurt he felt, but also said he’s since learned he needs to move on. Per the Chicago Sun Times:

While Noah wasn’t pointing fingers at his organization for trading Luol Deng to the Cleveland Cavaliers, he wasn’t thrilled with the decision.

“The trade definitely hurt, but we got to move on,’’ Noah said. “But I feel confident in this team. We’re working really hard, but a lot of people say this is a business and all that, but this game is more than a business to me. I put everything I’ve got into this.

“So I feel like Lu was the same way. It was hard for me to digest, but that’s just my perspective, that’s my side of the story. Everyone has a different job, I’m not mad at anybody, I’m not mad at the organization or anything like that. It’s just that my brother isn’t here anymore. I just needed a little bit of time to digest that.’’